Mad Love (Slateview High 3)

Claudio and Nathaniel both left a few of their men behind to deal with the scene of our attack—which I was pretty sure was going to include setting fire to the building—and the rest of us piled into two cars and headed out.

I ended up between Misael and Kace in a car with Claudio, and the silence seemed to stretch so taut I feared it would kill us all when it finally snapped. But none of the men seemed bothered by it, or at least, not enough to speak.

It took us nearly twenty minutes to reach my neighborhood, and as the car rolled smoothly down the wide, manicured streets, I ran my hands over what was left of my dress, smoothing out the skirt. The blue fabric was stained with blood and grime, and my knees were scraped and bruised. I had no idea what the rest of me looked like, but I knew that my half-assed updo had completely fallen out. A few pins still clung to my hair, and I ran my fingers through the tangled locks to pull them out, probably smearing blood in my hair in the process.

My heart beat harder and faster the closer we got to my parents’ mansion, and I felt both Misael and Kace reach for me, each resting a hand on my knee. I hadn’t asked what Nathaniel planned to do with my father, and I realized in retrospect that I should have—not that I had the power to change his mind, whatever he’d decided.

But a wave of nausea roiled my stomach as I wondered if the crime lord planned to kill my father.

That was the way of the world I had found myself a part of, after all. In this world, you killed your enemies before they killed you. And if someone made an attempt on your life and failed, you took them out before they could try again.

“It’ll be okay, Coralee. We’ll keep you safe,” Kace muttered, so quietly I could barely hear him. I glanced toward the front seat, wondering if he hadn’t wanted Claudio to hear.

God, was I about to find myself in the middle of a second shootout tonight? What if Nathaniel decided I deserved punishment just like my father?

The Lost Boys wouldn’t let him harm me.

They’d die trying to protect me.

Goose bumps broke out over my skin, a riot of nerves making my blood prickle inside my veins. This night was a long fucking way from over.

When we pulled up outside the house, I gave Claudio’s driver the code to open the gate, and it swung open on silent hinges. The two cars rolled to a stop in the driveway, and we all piled out. Misael had wiped most of the blood off his hand, and the bandage on his shoulder was keeping more blood from dripping down his arm, but we all looked like shit. Kace had a cut across his cheek and a gash in the front of his shirt, and I was still barefoot, shivering in the cold night air.

Nathaniel, Bishop, and two other men stepped out of the car ahead of us, and we all headed up the front steps. It was late, almost midnight, but the lights were still on in parts of the house. I wondered if Dad was waiting up for confirmation that his hit had been carried out, and my stomach twisted so violently at the thought that I almost hurled into the perfectly manicured hedges that bordered the steps on either side.

I half expected Nathaniel to shoot out the lock like Kace had back at the office building. But instead, he looked to me. “Do you have a key?”

The question caught me so off guard that I blinked at him like an idiot for several seconds. A key. It was so… so normal. So bland.

But of course, it made perfect sense. Nathaniel was wealthy and well-connected in Baltimore’s underground, but just because he’d managed to avoid getting busted for his criminal activity so far didn’t mean he was above the law. Why bother kicking in the door or shooting out the lock when it could trigger an alarm? Especially if he had a way in that didn’t require any of that.

“Um, yeah,” I stammered.

I hadn’t wanted to bring a purse to the dance, so I’d stuck my key in my bra. Cheeks flaming, I reached my hand down the front of my dress and fished around, trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone. All three of the Lost Boys seemed to puff up a little bit, glaring at the others as if daring any of them to take a peek.

Fortunately, none of the men with us were idiots or pervs, so no one ogled me as I drew the key out of my cleavage. I handed it to Nathaniel, and he gave me an

almost gentlemanly nod before he took it and turned to unlock the door.

We all stepped inside, moving quietly, and my heart kicked against my ribs as I realized just how many of the men around me had weapons drawn. Both of Nathaniel’s guys did, and Kace had pulled his stolen gun from the waistband of his pants. Claudio held a gun too, and from the look on his face, I could guess whether he hoped to use it tonight or not.

Nathaniel took the lead as we headed toward the light spilling into the foyer from a room down the hall. I knew it was coming from Dad’s office, and my legs wobbled with every step, my head buzzing like it was full of bees.

I could try to break free from the group and run to him, try to warn him what was coming. Or I could shout the warning from here. Give him a few precious seconds to flee or prepare a defense.

I could.

There were so many things I could do.

But all I did was keep walking forward, my bare feet more silent than anyone else’s as we stalked toward Dad’s office. The door wasn’t closed all the way. It hung a few inches open, spilling light into the hallway. I could hear the light tapping of fingers on a keyboard inside, but the sound stopped abruptly when Nathaniel pushed open the door and stepped inside.

The rest of us followed, and I entered the room in time to see Dad shoot to his feet, a look of panic and anger on his face.

“What the f—”

He broke off when he caught sight of me, and the double take he did was almost comical. I might’ve laughed out loud if I didn’t still feel like I was about to barf. The sight he must be taking in was only funny in the darkest, most macabre sense of the word.

His daughter, her hair and face smeared with blood and dirt, her knees scraped, her skin bruised.